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If you are a composer or arranger working in Finale 2010 or later, you’ll want to download Jari Williamsson’s new plugin called JW Meter & Rhythm:

The plugin is packed with features related to metric changes, organized into 4 different master categories:

Relative Meter Change

Compound Time

Transform to Contents

Rhythm Transformation

The Relative Meter category of the plugin allows you to quickly double or half the meter in the the selected bars. Everything is handled: the meter is changed, the note durations are expanded or contracted appropriately, and in a twist that shows Jari’s attention to detail, objects such as Expressions, Chords and Smart Shapes are automatically repositioned appropriately.

You have the option of changing the current tempo or preserving the current tempo (e.g. metric modulation) as part of the transformation.

The Compound Meter category lets you convert straight time signatures with triplets to compound time signatures based on groupings of three, e.g. triplets are converted to non-tuplets. Duplet patterns can be converted in various ways. Of course, you can also use this tool in reverse, to convert a bar of 12/8 into a bar of 4/4 with triplet eighths, for instance.

The plugin automatically handles beaming as these changes are made.

Transform to Contents – this category has several productivity tools which can be very helpful in certain situations.

Create Time Signature

Use Displayed Time

Free Time

Bound Time

Resize Contents to Signature

Create Time Signature analyzes the contents of the bar and creates a meter change based on it. So, a bar of 4/4 which was short by an 8th note could be converted to a bar of 7/8, for instance. Use Displayed Time utilizes Finale’s “Use A Different Time Signature For Display” feature, creating a meter that matches the actual content of the bar, but keeping the currently visible meter. Free Time allows you to create a cadenza with no time signature. The plugin can optionally hide the barlines of the selected region as part of this operation, and change bar numbering to what makes the most sense with the current display. Bound Time will reveal hidden elements again. Resize Contents to Time Signature can be used to sync free-form patterns to a specific time signature.

Last, but definitely not least, the Rhythmic Transformation category of the plugin allows you to create a notated swing (e.g. triplet-based) rhythm based on two straight notes, or change notated swing rhythms to straight notes.

Rhythmic Transformation also has a useful rests task which performs a number of useful functions: transform rests according to time signature, replace all rest tuplets, split compound rests to 2+1 and merge adjacent rests.

Jari Williamsson has put together an overview of the features in this video clip:

"I just wanted to say thank you for the tutorials you have here on your site. I would describe myself as highly proficient with Sibelius, but I only recently began learning Finale 2012. The deep learning that you offer on 'Of Note' has been instrumental in my first steps to mastering the software. I have just completed my first "Finale only" job thanks to your tips and tricks. Thank you!"